Treating Yourself Wisely At Taco Bell: The Good, Bad & Ugly!

When it comes to fast food many people would rather stop off for a taco... Taco Bell is one of the most frequented Mexican food chains, so let's have a look at their menu so you can be more prepared to order next time around.

When it comes to fast food for many people, they'd rather stop off for a taco than take in a burger at one of the fast food burger joints. Some people just prefer the Mexican taste but you still need to watch out, in many cases a taco can be just as bad as a hamburger if you're not careful.

Click To Enlarge.Some People Just Prefer The Mexican Taste.

Taco Bell is one of the most frequented Mexican food chains, so let's have a look at their menu so you can be more prepared to order next time around.

Fresco Menu

The very first place you'll want to look when you walk into your local Taco Bell is the Fresco menu. These are items that have been designed by the chain to be healthier options, so right off the bat you know you're doing better.

All the items on this list have 8 or fewer grams of fat and are under 550 calories, making them a very good option for a quick meal on the go. The best option in terms of having the lowest calorie value along with the highest protein value is the Fresco Fiesta Burrito Supreme - Chicken, which contains 340 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 18 grams of protein.

Best Value For Your Buck Taco Bell? What would you guys suggest? I usually just get 6-8 hard tacos. But I want to try something diff thats a good value for my money... was looking at the chicken burito? Or mexican pizza?

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The restaurant proves to provide seemingly limitless options for what to order as they've created their own variations on the original taco. Nutritionally speaking you'll be best off choosing the regular tacos, followed by Gorditas, and then Chalupas, which come in with the highest calorie values.

The Good

The best taco choice is the Soft Taco Supreme, which comes in at 240 calories, 11 grams of
fat, and 11 grams of protein. A slightly higher
calorie option is the Gordita Chicken Supreme, which ranks in at 300 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 17 grams of protein.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Soft Taco Supreme

240

11

24

11

Gordita Chicken Supreme

300

13

29

17

The Bad

You'll want to tread lightly when ordering the Gordita Baja's as for the calorie content, they contain the highest total fat value, coming in at 18-21 grams. They also have a relatively low
protein count, with only 13-17 grams total.

If you must have a Chalupa, choose the Chalupa Chicken Supreme as it contains the least fat and most protein out of all of the options.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Gordita Baja Chicken

340

18

29

17

Chalupa Chicken Supreme

350

18

30

17

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The burritos on the Taco Bell menu are higher in calories for the most part compared with the other items on the menu, which may be fine if you do require more calories per day, but if you don't, you may want to opt away from these for your meal.

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The best burrito choice to order is the Fiesta Chicken Burrito, coming in at 360 calories, 10 grams of
fat, and 17 grams of
protein. It will give you the best bang for the calories contained in it.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Fiesta Chicken Burrito

360

10

49

17

The Bad

Not a great deal worse is the Burrito Chicken Supreme, which contains 390
calories, 12 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein. Both the beef and steak varieties of the Burrito Supreme are also similar in nutritional content, with the only difference being a slightly higher total fat content and lower protein content.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Burrito Chicken Supreme

390

12

51

20

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On the ugly side of things, what you'll really want to stay away from are the Grilled Stuffed Burritos, as these contain 630-690 calories total, 24-30 grams of fat, and 26-33 grams of
protein. Unless you are putting in some hard gym sessions, you're better off without these.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Beef

690

30

79

26

Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Chicken

650

23

76

33

Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Steak

630

24

75

28

Dessert

The dessert at Taco Bell isn't actually all that destructive to your diet, especially when you put it in context with many other fast food options. The Cinnamon Twists contain 170 calories and 7 grams of fat total making it manageable if it's a once in occasion treat.

Click To Enlarge.The Dessert At Taco Bell Isn't All That Harmful When Compared To Other Options.

Item

Calories

Fats

Carbs

Protein

Cinnamon Twists

170

7

26

1

Conclusion

Overall, there are a number of options to choose from here that can be incorporated into your diet without too many issues, making it a slightly better choice than many of the burger restaurants out there. But like those, you do have to know what to order. If you choose one of the few items that packs away more than 500 calories, it's going to put a dent in your daily diet.